Fly fishing on the Ausable River

I have always wanted to try fly fishing since watching the movie, "A River Runs Through It" in my teen years.  I think it was a combination of watching the fluid motion of the cast, peacefulness of a secluded spot, and my love of water that attracted me to the sport.  A few years back on one of our  many trips to Lake Placid, we received a casting lesson on dry land.  I never got the chance to test my new skills because the guide could only take 3 on the river and I let my boys have the opportunity.  So, fast forward 2 years and on this visit to Lake Placid,  I made sure to schedule a lesson with our favorite guide and get out on the river.

I thought it was going to be a one on one lesson with myself and the guide, but surprisingly both my boys wanted to rise at 5am to get out on the River with me.  Great!  I love some mother/son bonding!  On the day of our excursion, we rose to misty and overcast skies.  We gathered our waders and rods and met our guide down the street where he supplied us with breakfast sandwiches and coffee.  This was definitely needed at this hour of the morning.  We followed him to "the spot" and climbed into our waders and boots and were shortly on the river.   Aaaah!  I just love the sound of the water flowing over the rocks and not another soul to be seen.  

Our guide, Zac, gave us a refresher course and basic instruction and within minutes I was fishing.  I quickly grasped the motion and concept but perfecting the execution will take some work.  The fish were jumping all around me, but I never seemed to put my fly in the right place, at the right time.  One of the boys caught one and the other boy had a few get away.  I will be back that is for sure.  The sport has grabbed me.  Nothing beats the sounds, smells, and sights of nature and water.  Plus, while fishing an osprey, raven, and blue heron flew overhead.  They looked to be having a good day fishing!

Fly fishing on the Ausable River is such an amazing experience!  There are so many interesting options and adventures in Lake Placid and it was so nice to have another great experience.  The numerous adventures and opportunities is what inclined us to purchase a vacation home here and it is what keeps us coming back. Don't you hear the mountains calling?

Upgrades to The Otter house to enjoy the river!

We have been making many upgrades to the Otter House. Our goal is to have a comfortable vacation rental for families and friends to enjoy together. We love Lake Placid and wanted to share our home with others, so they could enjoy our special place as well.

This spring we have had some outdoor work done by a local firm. Our outdoor space really maximizes the peaceful and gorgeous view of the river. We put in a new dock, so it is easy to boats in and out. We also put in a new firepit, so there is know room for the whole family to roast marshmallows. Enjoy!

Spring has sprung!

Yes, it looks that spring is finally arriving, albeit a bit slowly.  This Monday, Lake Placid awoke to 4 inches of snow, but warmer temperatures are on their way.  It is exhilarating to look forward to all of the spring and summer activities that can be done in the Adirondacks.  We are hoping to take advantage of many old and new activities this year.  Before we move onto activities, I must keep you in the loop of some of the exciting changes that you will be seeing at The Otter House in the next couple of weeks.  We have contacted with Wesley Moody Designs to do some additional outside work to take advantage of our outdoor space and amazing river location.  Here is a teaser of what is to come.  I apologize for the picture quality, but this shot was taken on the job.

Little by little!

We have a goal of adding something new to the house each month.  We knew we couldn't tackle everything all at once and design can be a process.  So, we got the house settled with the basics and are slowly adding to enhance the overall aesthetic and experience.  

When we first embarked on this adventure of owning a vacation rental home, we had no idea about how much time and focus it would take.  The adventure has been real... real hard, but also real fun.  I wish I could say that the decorating and as I say "eye candy" part of the process has been real fun.  It is more like a REAL struggle for us.  Some people just have that "eye" or sense of what works...not us!  We have to work at the fluffing of the house.  We are so proud of ourselves when we have completed each item, but the hunt and decision making process can be a bit painful.  With each addition to the house, we are making progress and enhancing the look.  I hope you like the changes and enjoy watching us move forward.  

Here is one of our newest additions.  There is now room for sleeping 2 people on the porch. It is one of my favorite places in the house! In addition to it being a great place for the kids or adults to sleep, it has an amazing view of the river and is a great place to cuddle up with a good book! Do you see yourself here?

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE

With many changes recently occurring in the vacation home rental marketplace, it is important to me to make sure our guests are getting the highest level of service with no additional fees.   Some of the big internet sites that have been doing business in this venue, have made some changes in the last few weeks, that add additional fees to our guests.  It also makes it difficult for our guests to have phone conversations with us because our contact information is not always apparent.

To support our guests, we have established a new website where they can contact us directly, without concern of additional fees.  We look forward to continuing our relationships with our guests  and building some new one.  We hope to hear from you.

Check out our new website at:

WWW.LAKEPLACIDOTTERHOUSE.COM

There have been a lot of changes to The Otter House in the last 6 months!  Not one part of the house has gone untouched.  It was really important to us to provide an inviting, luxurious, and comfortable adirondack experience for our guests.  The house was perfect with its great layout, beautiful hardwood floors, waterfront location and proximity to town.  It just needed some pizazz...or decoration...or dolling up!  We painted.  We shopped.  We cleared the land.  We cleaned.  We decorated. And we did it all again.  I will not say that we are done because there are always the little touches or things that we can add...just because we want to.  But the improvements are vast and noticeable.  We have created a little spot of Adirondack Paradise.

Shopping and Decorating

We are finalizing all the details related to purchasing the house and while the wheels continue moving on that front, we are enjoying the hunt of finding treasures to personalize and add the adirondack flare to the Otter House.  I tend to find the idea of all this shopping and decorating overwhelming.  While, many people enjoy the hunt and adding the little touches, I feel hesitation and self doubt.  Shopping has never been one of those tasks I enjoy and decorating is not a natural talent.

Yesterday, I did have some fun, finding some treasures at an antique sale.  The experience wasn't so bad, I think having a handy assistant is the way to go in this adventure.  Having someone with you to say, "yay or nay," makes the self doubt go away.  Hopefully, I will be able to find the right spot for all my little treasures.